And Vettel is in buoyant mood, saying he is not feeling any pressure going into this weekend, despite the expectant support of the notorious Tifosi at the track.

“Everyone can feel something special is going on. We have a good car but we need to make it happen,” said Vettel.
“It is a great feeling when you can fight for pole and victory. It is what you want.”

He added: “It is good to see we are getting stronger. In some areas, we have caught up. In others maybe we have a little bit of an edge. That is where we want to be, and maybe even beyond that.

“We want to keep that level through the year, and if there is a gap to increase it. It is going in the right way but there are a lot of things that can be improved and we need to focus on those and go step by step.”